Review – A Cry from the Dust

Carrie Stuart Parks in her new book, "A Cry from the Dust" Book One in the Gwen Marcey series published by Thomas Nelson introduces us to Gwen Marcey. From the back cover:   In the shadow of the Mormon church, a 19th-century conspiracy is about to be shattered by a 21st-century forensic artist. In 1857, a wagon train in Utah was assaulted by a group of militant Mormons calling themselves the Avenging Angels. One hundred and forty people were murdered, including unarmed men, women, and children. The Mountain Meadows Massacre remains controversial to this day–but the truth may be written on the skulls of the victims. When renowned forensic artist Gwen Marcey is recruited to reconstruct the faces of recently unearthed victims at Mountain Meadows, she isn't expecting more than an interesting gig . . . and a break from her own hectic life. But when Gwen stumbles on the ritualized murder of a young college student, her work on the massacre takes on a terrifying new aspect, and research quickly becomes a race against modern-day fundamentalist terror. As evidence of a cover-up mounts–a cover-up spanning the entire history of the Mormon church–Gwen finds herself in the crosshairs of a secret society bent on fulfilling prophecy and revenging old wrongs. Can a forensic artist reconstruct two centuries of suppressed history . . . before it repeats itself? In A Cry from the Dust, Carrie Stuart Parks utilizes her own background as a celebrated, FBI-trained forensic artist to blend fact and fiction into a stunning mystery. I think that one of the most difficult jobs out there is that involving forensics. I mean really you start out with practically nothing and you have to reconstruct faces or crime scenes. I suppose it takes a certain kind of individual to make this work. Certainly Gwen Marcey is one of those individuals. She starts out just trying to recreate what may have happened in 1857 and then gets pulled in to a contemporary murder which may connect to a secret society. This is hot stuff. "A Cry from the Dust" is a thriller, which simply means that Gwen is in grave danger from, practically, the beginning.  Ms. Parks gives us a really complex mystery and sections of story that will chill you.  "A Cry from the Dust" is full of twists and turns, with a few red herrings thrown in just to cause confusion.  Gwen Marcey is warm and likable and we get engaged in her life.  This is an exciting book, extremely well paced and suspenseful.  I am so looking forward to more Gwen Marcey stories.